2026年5月8日 / 美国东部时间凌晨12:01 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
如果特朗普政府旗下的一项拟议规则生效，近100年来首次有人可以通过美国邮政服务邮寄手枪。本周，24个州的民主党总检察长联名发函反对这一提案。
1927年，美国国会通过一项法律，禁止美国邮政寄送可隐藏的枪支，除非寄件方为持牌经销商，以此遏制犯罪。今年1月，司法部重新审视了这项1927年的法律，称其违宪，认为它违反了第二修正案，并敦促邮政部门修改相关规定。
司法部表示，只要国会选择运营邮政包裹服务，“第二修正案就禁止邮政服务拒绝向守法公民寄送受宪法保护的枪支，即便这些公民并非持牌制造商或经销商。”
上个月，美国邮政总局提出一项新规则，允许任何人邮寄手枪和左轮手枪等可隐藏枪支。目前，美国邮政允许邮寄长枪管步枪和霰弹枪等部分枪支，但要求枪支必须卸下子弹并进行安全包装。新提案将为手枪提供类似的保护措施——尽管手枪自1927年以来已经发生了诸多变化。
美国邮政发言人戴维·沃尔顿周四在发给哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的声明中表示，该规则于4月2日提出，“以符合司法部法律事务办公室对《美国联邦法典》第18编第1715条合宪性的意见，该条款禁止邮寄可隐藏枪支。”公众意见征询期于5月4日下班前结束，目前邮政部门正在审核反馈意见。
正在竞选州长的内华达州民主党总检察长亚伦·福特表示，这项规则修改将颠覆内华达州等州为遏制枪支暴力所做的努力。内华达州曾经历美国现代史上最致命的大规模枪击事件：2017年10月1日，一名枪手从拉斯维加斯曼德勒海湾赌场酒店开火，造成60人死亡。枪击事件发生后，内华达州通过法律，要求对大多数私人枪支销售或转让进行州政府主导的背景调查。
“我们州已经遭受了足够多的伤痛，却有人提议让罪犯和施暴者更容易获取枪支，这是对枪支暴力幸存者和执法人员的公然侮辱，”福特在一份声明中说道。
根据拟议规则，个人可以在州内进行枪支销售并邮寄。跨州邮寄枪支的规则则更为严格：仅允许将枪支寄给本人，且需由收件人本人亲自开箱。这一规定旨在帮助那些前往其他州，希望出于娱乐目的使用枪支的人。
司法部认为，各州枪支法律的差异使得人们出于射击练习、狩猎和自卫等合法目的跨州携带枪支变得困难。司法部表示，在许多情况下，人们无法随身携带枪支，因此邮寄成为“唯一可行的运输方式”。
福特和其他约24个州的总检察长周一在致美国邮政总局的信中敦促其撤回这项拟议规则，称该规则将让那些依法不得持有枪支的人——例如有重罪前科或家庭暴力前科者——更容易获取枪支。他们还表示，这将增加侦破枪支犯罪的难度。他们指出，行政部门无权无视国会通过的法律，且该规则将凌驾于各州枪支法律之上。
总检察长们表示，各州法律包含枪支安全课程、背景调查和心理健康史核查等要求，这些要求由州级机构监管，如果新规实施，这些监管将被绕过。他们认为，无法确保人们会遵守规则，不会跨州将手枪邮寄给他人。
总检察长们称，执法部门将不得不建立全新的追踪体系，以追踪通过邮政服务邮寄的枪支，这将给各州预算增加额外负担。
“相关的拟议规则对各州造成损害，因为它提供了一种易于获取的枪支转让机制，绕过了”联邦枪支许可证，“信中写道。”按照现行规定，联邦 firearms许可证持有者承担着确认遵守州和联邦法律的责任——包括对每一位受让方进行背景调查，并核实州法律是否允许该受让方拥有特定邮寄枪支。“
联合包裹服务（UPS）和联邦快递（FedEx）等私营快递公司也限制向持有联邦枪支许可证的进口商、制造商、经销商和收藏家等客户寄送枪支。根据联邦快递官网信息，持有联邦枪支许可证的发货人需与联邦快递客户经理合作以获得寄送许可。
枪支维权团体对这项拟议修改表示赞赏，而枪支安全组织则表达了担忧。
美国全国步枪协会游说部门执行主任约翰·康默福德称，这对守法枪主而言是一场关键胜利。
“多亏了特朗普总统及其政府，美国邮政总局终于可以在与步枪和霰弹枪相同的常识性安全条件下寄送这类枪支了，”康默福德在周三的一份声明中说道。
“每个城镇支持枪支安全”组织主席约翰·范布拉德特表示，这项规则修改将把美国邮政总局变成非法武器的“枪支贩运通道”，“同时剥夺执法部门预防和调查枪支犯罪所需的工具”。
USPS proposal would allow handguns to be sent through the mail for the first time since 1927
May 8, 2026 / 12:01 AM EDT / CBS/AP
Handguns could be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service for the first time in nearly 100 years if a proposed rule under the Trump administration takes effect. Democratic attorneys general in two dozen states sent a letter this week in opposition.
In 1927, Congress passed a law barring the USPS from mailing concealable firearms unless they were from licensed dealers in an effort to curb crime. In January, the Department of Justice revisited the 1927 law, calling it unconstitutional and arguing that it violated the Second Amendment, and urged the postal service to change its regulations.
The Justice Department said that as long as Congress chooses to run a parcel service, “the Second Amendment precludes it from refusing to ship constitutionally protected firearms to and from law-abiding citizens, even if they are not licensed manufacturers or dealers.”
Last month, USPS proposed a new rule that would allow anyone to mail concealable firearms like pistols and revolvers. USPS currently allows some firearms like long-barreled rifles and shotguns to be mailed, however they must be unloaded and securely packaged. Similar protections would be in place for handguns, which have evolved since 1927.
In a statement provided to CBS News Thursday, USPS spokesperson David Walton said that rule was proposed on April 2 “to conform with the opinion of the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel regarding the constitutionality of Section 1715 of title 18 U.S. Code, which prohibits the mailing of concealable firearms. The public comment period ended close of business May 4th, and we are reviewing comments.”
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat who is running for governor, said the rule change would undo the work states like Nevada have done to curb gun violence. Nevada experienced the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, when a gunman on Oct. 1, 2017, opened fire from the Mandalay Bay casino hotel in Las Vegas, killing 60 people. Following the shooting, Nevada passed a law requiring state-administered background checks on most private gun sales or transfers.
“Our state has suffered enough, and to suggest we make it easier for criminals and abusers to access firearms is a slap in the face to gun violence survivors and law enforcement,” Ford said in a statement.
Under the proposed rules, someone could sell and ship a gun to a person within state lines. The rules are tighter for mailing guns across state lines — people could only mail it to themselves in the care of another person and would be required to open it themselves. That’s designed to assist people who are traveling to another state where they might want to use a gun for recreation.
The Justice Department argues the patchwork of state laws around guns makes it difficult to take them across state lines for lawful purposes like target shooting, hunting and self-defense. It said that in many cases, people have no ability to travel with a firearm, making mail the “only viable method of transportation.”
Ford and other attorneys general in around two dozen states sent a letter Monday urging the USPS to withdraw the proposed rule, saying it will make it easier for people who can’t legally possess guns, like people convicted of felonies or domestic violence, to access them. They also said it’ll make it more difficult to solve gun crimes. They said the executive branch does not have the authority to ignore a law Congress passed and the rule will override state gun laws.
State laws include requirements like firearms safety courses, background searches and mental health history checks, according to the attorneys general. Those requirements are regulated through state entities, which would be bypassed if the rule change would be implemented, they argued. There will be no way to guarantee that someone is following the rules and not shipping a handgun across state lines to another person, they argued.
Law enforcement will have to create a new tracking structure to account for firearms mailed through the postal service, which would place added burdens on state budgets, the attorneys general said.
“The Proposed Rule relatedly harms States by providing a readily-accessible mechanism for transfers of firearms that bypass” federal firearms licenses, the letter reads. “Under the status quo, FFLs shoulder the burden of confirming compliance with state and federal law — including by referring each transferee for a background check and verifying that state law allows such transferee to own the particular weapon mailed.”
Private companies like UPS and FedEx also restrict gun shipments to customers with federal firearms licenses, such as importers, manufacturers, dealers and collectors. FedEx requires shippers with a federal firearms license to work with a FedEx account executive to obtain approval, according to the company’s website.
Firearm advocacy groups applauded the proposed change, while gun safety organizations expressed their concern.
John Commerford, executive director of the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association of America, called it a key victory for law-abiding gun owners.
“Thanks to President Trump and his administration, USPS will finally allow these firearms to be shipped under the same commonsense safety conditions as rifles and shotguns,” Commerford said in a Wednesday statement.
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said the rule change will turn USPS into a “gun trafficking pipeline” for illegal weapons “while stripping law enforcement of the tools they need to prevent and investigate gun crime.”